Is the Holy Grail in Spain?

A new book claims that the Holy Grail is not lost, destroyed or buried as is often thought, but is in fact on full display in a Spanish church.

Historians Margarita Torres and José Manuel Ortega del Rio have identified the goblet of the Infanta Doña Urraca as the cup from which Jesus drank during the last supper.

The jewel-encrusted chalice, made of agate, gold and onyx, resides at the San Isidro Basilica in the city of Leon in north-western Spain, and visitors have flocked in their hundreds to catch a glimpse of the relic since the claim was made in Kings of the Grail, published last week.

Curators have been forced to remove the cup from its position on display in order to find a more suitable space for it to enjoy its newfound fame.

"It was in a very small room where is as not possible to admire it to the full," director of the basilica's museum Raquel Jaén explained to AFP.

Torres and Ortega del Rio believe that the chalice is actually comprised of two cups that have been moulded together, and contend that the upper part can be traced back to Jesus' final week on earth. Their findings conclude a three-year investigation that began with Egyptian parchments studied at Cairo's University of al-Azhar.

Before you book your flights to Spain, however, it should be noted that over 200 relics have so far been identified by various historians and treasure hunters as the Holy Grail in Europe alone.